The project EMERGE: Energy Management Education for Recovery from Long Covid Fatigue is a project by Ruth Hersche-Cupelli, a researcher at SUPSI's Rehabilitation Research Laboratory (2rLab), funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF).
Long COVID often generates severe fatigue in affected individuals, with consequences on their daily activities and social life.
Treatment guidelines emphasise the need for a multidisciplinary approach including self-management education, peer support and symptom management strategies. Energy Management Education (EME) developed by Ruth Hersche and Andrea Weise in cooperation with Kliniken Valens, is an educational occupational therapy intervention that takes place in small peer groups for people suffering from fatigue due to a chronic illness. After the first wave from COVID-19, several institutions in Switzerland started to use the EME protocol in their ergotherapy services with people suffering from Long COVID.
The aim of the EMERGE project is threefold. The primary objective is to evaluate whether the integration of Energy Management Treatment to standard care is able to reduce the effects of Long COVID fatigue on the daily life of affected persons. The second objective is to investigate how individuals adopt Energy Management strategies in their daily routines and the factors that foster these behavioural changes. Finally, the third objective is to conduct a cost-effectiveness analysis of Energy Management education.
The EMERGE project aims, through the achievement of its objectives, to close some gaps in the effectiveness of the educational intervention. Furthermore, occupational therapists will gain a deeper understanding of the behavioural changes resulting from the use of EME, enabling them to advise and support affected persons more effectively. The results will support rehabilitation managers and decision-makers in guiding their decisions.
The project led by Ruth Hersche-Cupelli has as partners the patients' association Long COVID and Altea Network, the Clinic for Neurorehabilitation and Paraplegiology (REHAB) of Basel, the University Hospital Zurich and the Inselspital Bern.